Speaking of TCO....

Maybe I've watched too many movies or fancy myself in a larger role than I am, but I am caught up with the analogy of house as a ship.

Whenever it came out, my dad, brother, and I saw the movie "Master and Commander" and as we've been getting this house into shape, I think of myself as the captain and the house as the vessel that carries my crew through uncharted waters (life) on our way to some distant land.

One of the things about captains (and perhaps it's a misconception) is that they need to know every nook and cranny of their ship. So too with the house.

After my ridiculously high heating bill, I hired a firm that specializes in energy efficiency assessments and after receiving the report back, have begun implementing many of the suggestions. The pride of ownership motivates me as does the idea of lowering TCO over the long haul and making the house more "seaworthy," but I've spent a nice portion of today placing R-30 fiberglass insulation into the joints of the house where the main structure sits on top of the foundation so that air doesn't come in and change the temperature of the house thus negatively impacting my energy bills.

I never would have thought of this before (was up in the attic last week and will be going back soon to finish a job up there), but I'm enjoying getting to know every inch of my ship. As Captain, I need to.

(We can debate later whether I'm really in charge or not, but allow me to live in my fantasy world).